Netflix Paid $587 Million for Affleck’s AI Startup

Netflix paid $587 million in cash for an unnamed acquisition in March, according to the company’s Form 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Variety identified the target as InterPositive, the AI startup founded by Ben Affleck in 2022.

Netflix announced the InterPositive deal on March 5, while Bloomberg previously estimated that the price could reach $600 million. The filing does not name the acquired company, but the timing and reported figures point to InterPositive.

How InterPositive’s film tools work

Netflix said the acquisition was an investment in “creator-led innovation that keeps filmmakers at the center of the process.” Affleck described the startup’s goal as building production tools specifically for filmmakers rather than generating content from generic prompts.

“In 2022, I spent a lot of time observing the early rise of AI in production. As a filmmaker, I could see how these models came up short. For artists to apply these tools towards telling the stories we dedicate our lives to, they need to be purpose-built to represent and protect all the qualities that make a great story.”

In a video released with the acquisition announcement, Affleck said InterPositive was “not about text prompting or generating something from nothing.” Its tools instead create a model tailored to the film being produced, which can then support post-production tasks such as mixing and color grading. Affleck said this approach could let filmmakers focus more closely on performances as they happen.

A 2024 patent application filed by Affleck, reported by Deadline in April, said the technology could produce “substantial” savings. It could potentially replace costs associated with background artists, splinter film units, and reshoots, with a projected 20% reduction in schedule and physical production and a 50% reduction in VFX costs.

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